Thursday, January 29, 2009

Going Postal

There was a lot in the national media yesterday about the U.S. Postal Service’s suggestion that they may cut a day of service:

Postmaster General John E. Potter, in testimony before a Senate subcommittee, warned of a possible worst-case scenario: eliminating the requirement to deliver mail six days a week to every address in America.

Worst-case? Really? Heck, I can’t believe they haven’t already cut service back to four days a week. In fact, I’m quite certain the only reason they have not curtailed service is because of pressure from some interest group like the Direct Marketing Assn.

Hey, I’m all for it. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, just bring my mail two days a week, okay? Not that I think that will keep the Postal Service from raising postage rates every six months but I get very little that is useful in my mailbox anymore. So you can just quit bringing this stuff, alright?

I’m on every “do not mail” and non-solicitation list there is, I even registered with Catalog Choice. And still, the majority of my mail is crap addressed to “resident” that goes straight from my mailbox to the recycling bin. Coupons, catalogs, mortgage re-fi offers, donation pitches from the Democratic Party and various non-profits, none of it anything I need to see today or any day. Everything important in my life, from a communication standpoint, happens online. No wonder the Postal Service is in financial trouble. They are obsolete.

The NBC Nightly News presented this story as if it were the end of an era, a grand American tradition gone the way of vinyl record albums and Burma Shave signs. Pfft. I’m not nostalgic for stuff that doesn’t work any more. I’m more concerned about Starbucks’ plan to only sell decaf before noon.

Can that be right? Who drinks decaf in the morning fer chrissakes? If I drink caffeine after 2 pm I’m up all night. Now where am I going to go for a decaf latte at 3 pm?

I simply can't muster any sympathy for the Post Office. Yes, the Pony Express was a great thing to learn about when I was in Junior High. But we get our mail over the internet now. Time to roll with the changes.